Tale of Two Tails

Chapter 26

The day of Levi's coronation came, and the throne room was filled with nobles and the palace staff. At the front of the room, by the thrones (actually more like decorative pillows), stood Mikasa, Eren, Levi, and the head monk at Inari's temple. The monk spoke for a long time, about how tragic the emperor's death was, and how Levi will take his place as leader. The monk also spoke of how Eren would be becoming empress.

As the monk was about to place the emperor's head piece on Levi's head, there was a deep growl and the nobles in the room quickly separated to show a man sitting among the nobles, with a yellow fox's teeth buried in his arm, three tails on end and still growling as the man tried to pry him off.

"Armin?" Mikasa asked. The fox glanced at her with big, blue eyes. Mikasa sniffed the air subtly, and what she smelled made her eyes narrow. "Bring him here." She said, stepping down slightly from the raised area of the floor that the emperor sat on. Armin did so, pulling the man by his arm until he was kneeling before the princess.

To say the entire room was confused would be an understatement. Mikasa bent down slightly.

"I suggest you hand over your weapon, assassin." There was a collective gasp from the nobles and Eren, the monk stayed silent, but still quite shocked, and Levi's eyes narrowed.

"He's come to kill the new emperor?" A noble asked.

"No." Mikasa said once she got the weapon, a kunai, in her hand. "He's after Eren." Mikasa announced. Sniffing the blade slightly, she frowned. "It's the same poison that killed my father."

"What do you mean?" Levi asked. "That he's after Eren?" Levi's face was still calm, besides his narrowed eyes, as was his voice, though it bordered on anger.

"Father told me, before he passed, that the person that had attacked was not after his life, but Eren's. Our father reacted before thinking and shielded her. And it seems that whoever hired our assassin was fine with the casualty to have hired them again to attack Eren now." Levi walked over then.

"You mean to tell me, that our father died, because someone is trying to kill my wife?" Levi said, the word 'wife' feeling weird on his tongue. "And child?" Levi continued. Mikasa nodded. Levi's face completely relaxed, which some thought was odd, but Mikasa quickly stepped back, as did Armin.

"Is the coronation over?" Levi asked, looking to the monk. He shrugged lightly.

"Technically, no. But you are still the emperor, and have been since your father's passing. The coronation is a public display of you coming to power." The monk explained. Levi nodded once before turning back to the assassin.

"So, who hired you?" Levi asked, motioning for Mikasa and Armin to go by Eren to protect her.

"It is an assassin's code to never speak of his clients." The assassin said in a low voice.

"I'll ask you one more time. Who hired you?" Levi's voice remained eerily calm, but when the man refused again, that calmness evaporated as Levi's foot came in contact with the man's face, knocking a tooth across the room. Levi's face remained calm, but the room could see the rage flaring up in his eyes.

"Who." A kick to the stomach. "Hired." A kick to the face again. "You?" And a kick to the side. Every Time the assassin didn't answer, Levi delivered a quick, painful kick to a random spot on his body, even stomping once the assassin was low enough to the ground. On a particularly hard kick, gold coins fell from the assassin's clothing, and Armin was quick to run over and sniff it, before scanning the room and seeing one particular noble looking paler than the rest.

"I found him." Armin said once he shifted back into his Kitsune form, eyes locked with the man. Levi stopped his barrage on the assassin.

"Who?" Levi asked, voice like ice and literally made the room shiver.